Effektiva tgsystem fr godstransporter

- Underlagsrapport -

Noise and vibration aspects on

railway goods transportation

(Teknik fr mindre buller och vibrationer)

Rapport 0506E

Ulf Carlsson
Jrnvgsgruppen KTH
Marcus Wallenberg Laboratoriet
2003-07-02
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 2

8 NOISE AND VIBRATION

ASPECTS ON RAILWAY
GOODS TRANSPORTATION
8.1 INTRODUCTION
Increasing the capacity of the railway goods transportation system by raised vehicle
speed and load capacity in terms of axle load has potentially negative consequences.
The increased noise and vibration emission may for instance be difficult to combine
with increasing demands on an environment free from excessive noise and vibration.
The increased vibration exposure for the goods increases the risk for damaged goods.
The wear of track and the running gear may increase due to increased vibrations. Figure
1 gives a schematic overview of the noise and vibration generation and its implications.
Customer complaints

Influence on goods
Goods comfort

Shock and Vibration

Generation

Vehicle: Goods
Track Vehicle Interaction Vehicle Operation
Internal generation handling

Ground Vibration

Wear of track
Noise Emission and running
Emission to material
Vibration Emission environment

- Complaints from residents.

- Complaints from residents. - Sleep disturbances.
- Damaged buildings. - Reduced work capacity.
- Ground destabilisation. - Noise pollution in sensitive
environments.

Figure 1 Schematic overview of implications of noise and vibration emitted from railway
goods transportation systems.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 3

8.2 NOISE EMISSION FROM RAILWAY

LINES
Railway vehicles, for passenger as well as for goods transportation, generate both
interior and exterior vibration and noise. The emitted external noise does not cause
noise levels so high that the risk for impaired hearing among nearby residents is
significantly increased. The noise from passing trains is rather a cause of irritation and
sleep disturbances that affects the ability to perform well at home and at work. Sleep
disturbances is a common consequence of train passage noise and in particular of
railway goods transportation since part of the goods transportation is performed during
night.
Goods transportation during night decreases the efficiency of the railway goods
transportation system. To reduce the noise disturbances the allowed maximum speed in
residential areas has been reduced. Hence, a reduced noise emission making it possible
to increase the allowed maximum speeds would improve the transportation efficiency.
Another common measure taken to reduce the noise exposure in residential areas is to
install noise screens. Traditional noise screens are expensive and considered unaesthetic
and is therefore used only in lack of good alternatives.
Yet another measure to reduce noise exposure is to improve the noise insulation of the
buildings. This means for instance using high quality windows and doors with high
noise reduction indices. Because of the large number of exposed buildings this
alternative is also considered as expensive.

8.2.1 Railway noise sources

In an electrically powered railway system, such as the Swedish, the main contributors to
exterior noise are the wheel-rail system, the brake and coupling system on the wagons
and the locomotive with its traction system. In addition to these an important noise
source in goods transportation systems are empty wagons. Empty wagons frequently
have loose parts of various kinds that emit lots of noise when set into vibration. On
loaded wagons the vibrations of these parts are constrained.
In the neighbourhood of goods terminals and shunting yards the goods handling and
shunting operations usually cause very disturbing and high level impact noise. These
noises are, of course, particularly cumbersome during night.

8.2.2 Reduction of railway noise emission

Measures to reduce railway noise emission can be applied to the vehicle (the running
gear) or to the track. Since this investigation deals with the railway goods transportation
system focus is put on measures on track and running gear and not on wayside measures
such as noise screens.

Measures on running gear

The noise generated by goods transportation is partly due to the low technical standard
of the running gear. A substantial reduction of the noise emission, in the range say 10
20 dB, can be attained by simply implementing existing technology already in use in
trains for passenger transportation.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 4

One important noise source is wheel vibrations induced by rough wheel and rail
surfaces. The noise radiated by the wheel is dominated by contributions from resonant
wheel vibrations. In current (2003) designs available on the market there are several
wheel resonances having resonance frequencies in the range, 1000 Hz 3000 Hz, where
the human hearing is most sensitive. A German investigation worked with the
assumption that the perceived noise disturbance is reduced if the wheel resonance
frequencies are shifted to the region above 3000 Hz [1]. One investigated design had a
wheel web axially stiffened with a tangential sinuousoidal cross section. Simulations
indicate a possible 6 dB(A) wayside rolling noise level reduction at a train speed of 100
km/h.
Another proven way to reduce the noise generation is to use silent braking systems.
Traditionally freight trains have been equipped with cast iron block brakes whereas
passenger trains are equipped with disc brakes. Experience has shown that cast iron
block brakes already after a short usage cause wheel corrugation that generates noise in
the region 800 Hz 2000 Hz. Measurements, see for example [2], show sound pressure
level differences at typically 10 15 dB in this frequency range. An alternative to the
more complicated and expensive disc brakes is to exchange the cast iron blocks to sinter
metal or composite blocks. Both these alternatives have been shown to be acoustically
comparable to disc brakes. Negative aspects with the alternative material blocks are the
poor heat conduction properties and the poor friction properties in cold and humid
conditions. In spite of this several European national operators have decided to replace
the traditional cast iron blocks with the alternative material blocks. A German study [3]
indicates a possible 30 % 40 % cost reduction for wayside noise reduction measures.
Another noise reduction measure may be a modified wheel suspension system that
reduces the amplitude of the dynamic wheel-rail contact forces.
Noise generated by loose equipment and parts of the wagons, for instance chains, bars,
lids and doors are reduced simply by systematically introducing a number of existing
simple measures preventing the noise generation. Simply by avoiding metal against
metal contact surfaces by introducing rubber will significantly reduce the noise
generation. What is needed here is a systematic survey of sources and measures needed
and then introduce these on all rolling stock.
The reason for not using modern high quality running gear is high initial costs. The
goods transportation system operators are unwilling to invest the sums required to
exchange the goods carrier wagons in use today. It might prove successful to introduce a
differentiated tariff for using the track. Noisy rolling stock pay higher tariffs than silent
do. Another important reason is the difference in regulations and standards between
different countries. This is a serious problem since a specific goods waggon on its way
to its destination may cross several borders between countries.

Measures on track
In principle there are two ways of reducing the noise emission from the track, to reduce
the track vibration and to reduce the track noise radiation. Measures concentrating on
reducing the track noise radiation, such as various types of screens, are usually
expensive and are realistic alternatives only in particularly sensitive areas for example
residential areas.
The most efficient noise reduction measures are usually directed towards the source
region, in this case the wheel-rail contact. The rolling noise that is dominant in the
absence of squealing is generated by the rough wheel and rail rolling surfaces. German
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 5

investigations [1] indicates a 15 dB(A) sound level difference between a rough,

corrugated rail and a rail surface as smooth as possible to achieve in practice. Hence,
large noise reductions are achieved by introducing a track surveillance program aiming
at keeping the rail surface smooth.
One way to reduce the wheel-rail system noise generation is to increase the vibration
energy dissipation. A number of different methods, ranging from viscoelastic layers to
dynamic absorbers have been developed. Most of these suffer from either being
expensive or being inefficient or impractical in field conditions. A potentially efficient
and inexpensive method to dissipate rail vibrations, developed at MWL, KTH, makes
use of contact friction forces. Evaluations at laboratory conditions indicated promising
results with high loss factors. It still remains, however, to be optimised and evaluated in
field conditions.
Another possibility is to modify the dynamic properties of the wheel-track system so
that the vibration energy is removed from elements acting as strong acoustic radiators. A
modified rail-sleeper-foundation system enabling the vibration energy to transmit into
the ground rather than propagate long distances in the rail would reduce the rail
contribution to the noise emission. This is an interesting possibility that deserves further
attention. It is important though to limit the high transmissibility to the audible
frequency range. For lower frequencies it is important to reduce the vibration
transmission to the ground in order to limit the ground vibration emission to the
environment.
Given a specific rail vibration level the radiated noise reaching a wayside observer can
be reduced by decreasing the rails ability to radiate acoustic energy. This is achieved by
either reducing the area of the radiating rail surface or by introducing holes in the rail
web short-circuiting the radiation. The effective radiating area can be reduced by
acoustically screening the rail. Since the 1970s in Japan until today, 2003, a number of
investigations, primarily Dutch and German, have studied the effects of using a
ballastless track [4-6 and 7-9]. In the new track concept, developed for heavy haul and
high speed purposes, the rail is continuously or elastically suspended on a concrete
foundation. In the most far reaching designs a substantial part of the rail is embedded in
rubber. In some solutions the radiating surface is reduced with ca 50 % implying a
possible 3 dB reduction of the wayside sound power level, if all other factors are
assumed unchanged. Another benefit from the ballastless design is that it efficiently
isolates the vibrations from the structure below the rail. This, however, is negative for
the noise emission since the rail vibration level will increase. In fact investigations
performed by NS in the Netherlands show that ballastless track is not quieter than
ballasted track.
Also in economic terms he ballastless slab track is claimed to be competitive to the
traditional ballasted track. On the one hand it requires more initial investments on the
other hand the maintenance and service costs are reduced. All together the service life
costs are claimed to be lower than for the ballasted track and that the ballastless track is
a competitive alternative for new lines whereas it is not for existing lines [10].
Finally the possibility to use low screens placed very close to the rail should be
mentioned. Placing the screen close to the sound radiating source, i e the wheel-rail
contact, drastically reduces the required screen height to levels that do not interfere with
neither a wayside nor an onboard observer. Various solutions using screens with height
0,7 m have been tried in field conditions by the NS [7-9]. There is also a possibility to
optimise the screens acoustically with respect to the frequency contents of the radiated
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 6

noise. This optimisation can be achieved by different designs of the screen top [11]. In
principle the optimised screens make use of resonating elements tuned to strong
frequency components in the source spectrum.

Measures at goods handling and shunting operations

In shunting operations high impulsive noise is generated when wagons are allowed to
run into each other. The noise can be reduced by acoustical treatment of the couples and
by introducing automatic shunting where unnecessarily fierce collisions are avoided.
Loading and unloading the goods include a number of possible noise sources. When
trucks are used their machinery may emit noise. Trucks with diesel engines are
significantly noisier than trucks with electric motors. The introduction of new goods
handling systems can in combination with adapting existing noise abatement methods
reduce the handling noise generation. Simply by performing the handling operations
more gentle would significantly reduce the noise generation.

Suggestions for further research

As indicated above the noise emission can be substantially reduced by implementing
existing technology on the running gear. Or as stated by P de Vos of the Nederlandse
Spoorweg, Designing new quiet goods wagon on the drawing table will not be the
problem. But the major demand in Europe is for the development of usable workable
and in particular low-cost retrofit measures [12].
As far as the measures on the track is concerned there are a number of alternatives
useful in sensitive areas. Three specific topics are suggested for further research,
- an optimised rail friction damper,
- the possibility to tailor the track so that as large part as possible of the rail
vibration energy is absorbed in the ground-sleeper system and
- the possibility to introduce track-mounted noise screens should be further
investigated.

8.3 VIBRATION EMISSION FROM

RAILWAY LINES
A rail vehicle running on a track causes vibrations in the track structure as well as in the
neighbouring ground. There are two basic generation mechanisms, - the moving quasi-
static load and - the irregularities in the wheel-track system. Vibrations with frequencies
above say 20 Hz is mainly restricted to the rail-sleeper system and cause noise radiation,
see paragraph 8.2.1 above. Rail vibrations below 20 Hz can radiate significantly to the
surrounding ground and cause annoying disturbances among residents and cause
damage to track, embankment and neighbouring buildings. Two key factors for the low-
frequency railway vibration emission have been found to be train speed and weight [13].
For high speeds close to a critical speed very strong ground vibrations or shakings have
been shown to appear [14]. This, of course, is a severe constraining factor for any
attempt to increase the efficiency of rail goods transportation systems by increasing train
speed and axle load.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 7

8.3.1 Disturbances caused by railway ground

vibrations
The most important ground vibration disturbance is annoyance among wayside
residents. This annoyance causes significant problems and costs for track owners. There
are several studies performed to investigate the degree of annoyance caused by vibration
from different types of transportation [15,16]. Based on the results standards such as SS
460 48 61 and policies such as Banverkets BVPO 724.001 have been published as
frameworks for judging the severity of the annoyance. Banverkets policy, for instance,
states that no one should have to suffer wayside railway vibrations higher than 2,5 mm/s
(root mean square velocity value) in the bedroom during night and the long-term
planning goal is a maximum rms velocity of 1 mm/s. In the standard SS 460 48 61, for
evaluating the comfort in buildings, weighted velocities higher than 2,0 mm/s are
categorised as Likely to be annoying and velocities in the range 1,25 mm/s 2,5 mm/s
as Very annoying. The Norwegian standard NS 8176:1999, which is probably the
most elaborate, uses four classes A-D for rating the vibration comfort in buildings, see
table 1.

Table 1 Classes used in Norwegian standard NS8176:1999 for rating the vibration comfort in
buildings. Class A High vibration comfort. Only a few people will perceive
vibrations. Class B Fairly high vibration comfort. People will to some degree
perceive vibrations. Class C Recommended limit for vibrations in new buildings and
when new railway or road transportation lines are planned. Approximately 15 % of the
people subject to vibrations according to class C will be disturbed by the vibrations.
Class D Recommended limit for existing buildings. Approximately 25 % of the people
subject to vibrations according to class D will be disturbed by the vibrations. The
weighted velocity vw is the root mean square vibration velocity weighed with respect to
the human sensitivity to vibrations. Weighting curves can be obtained from proper
standards. The weighted velocity vw,95 is the weighted velocity compared to which 95 %
of the weighted velocity readings are lower.

Class A B C D
Maximum weighted velocity vw,95 [mm/s] 0,1 0,15 0,3 0,6

In a survey initiated by Banverket the distribution of vibration levels in wayside

buildings was investigated in a couple of regions. It was found that in some
municipalities more than 5 % of the buildings within 150 m from the track have
measured rms vibration velocity values higher than 2,5 mm/s and up to 40 % of the
buildings have values in the range 1 mm/s 2,5 mm/s. Hence, it is clear that annoyance
due to railway ground vibrations is a problem that needs particular attention if train
speed and axle load is increased.
It is also worth mentioning that annoyance due to vibration disturbances is a complex
area of psychological investigations. It is, for instance, evident that the annoyance
caused by various stimuli such as vibrations, noise, temperature etc interacts in a
complicated way. Reduced noise levels may, for instance, cause increased complaints
on vibrations. Noise from rattling windows is categorised as a noise problem but is
often a consequence of vibrations transmitted through the ground.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 8

8.3.2 Propagation of ground vibration

The severity of vibrations reaching a wayside building depends on a number of factors.
The most important is of course the distance to the track. Another important factor is the
ground dynamic properties. It is known that loose soils such as clay and gyttja leads to
more low-frequent high amplitude vibrations than more firm soils. Other influencing
factors are the soil depth to the bedrock and the existence of soil layers.
Not only the ground but also the building properties such as the foundation and height
influence the vibrations propagated into a building. Measurements have shown that
vibration amplitudes measured at ground level are lower than at the upper storeys.
Buildings with piled foundations are less sensitive than those with floating foundations
etc.

8.3.3 Reduction of vibration emission

Measures to reduce the annoyance due to railway vibrations can be implemented at the
train, at the track, along the transmission path through the ground or in the receiving
buildings.
The measures on the running gear are aiming at decreased vibration generation by
reducing the wheel-rail force fluctuations. One example is the attempts to reduce the
dynamic mass of the bogie by modifying the wheel suspension system. Since the
wayside vibrations are mainly due to the quasi-static moving load the measures on the
running gear are useful only in specific cases where vehicle dynamics is an important
vibration source.
Measures on the track and its close neighbourhood mainly focus on either preventing
the vibrations to radiate to the surrounding ground or on increasing the dissipation of
vibration in the track region.
Examples on the first group of track measures are introducing soft rail pads, introducing
continuous sleeper systems, i e ballastless slab track or increasing the mass and stiffness
of the trackbed. Recent research performed by the division of soil and rock mechanics
and the department of vehicle engineering have investigated the use of lime cement
columns as a means to change the track properties to reduce vibrations and also as a
means to screen vibrations along the propagation path [17].

8.3.4 Suggested research

The following section 3.4 is a summary of the state-of-the-art knowledge on railway
induced ground vibrations with recommendations for future research. The material is
written by A Bodare at KTH.

Introduction
Problems in connection with ground shakings get more and more attention as an
environmental problem. The consequences of shakings are damages inside and outside
buildings and less comfort for people exposed to the shakings. There have been cases
where vibration related comfort problems have made buildings uninhabitable.
Traffic on railway lines may generate strong ground shakings particularly from heavily
loaded freight trains. High-speed trains may under certain circumstances generate strong
shakings in the ground. In some places temporary speed reductions have been imposed
to decrease the level of shakings. It is always in areas with soft and very soft soil where
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 9

the strong ground shakings occur. West Sweden, the valley around Lake Mlaren (where
Stockholm is situated), East Gothia and the river estuaries in Northern Sweden are
especially vulnerable. All these areas have numerous populations.
Seldom the shaking creates structural damages to a building. They create mostly
cosmetic damages on facades, outer and inner walls etc. These damages are, however,
many times conspicuous and lower the value of the building, something, which is
serious for the owner of the building. The big problem with ground shakings seems to
be the sensation of low comfort for the residents. This means that ground shakings
generated by traffic will have an increased importance as an ordinary environmental
problem in the near future as railway lines penetrate densely urbanised areas all hours of
the day.

Train traffic
Swedish Rail Administration has since many years measured train traffic shakings when
neighbours to a line complained on disturbing shakings. The Administration has also
supported research and development at the Technical Institutes and Universities in this
field.
Recently ground shakings induced by the high-speed train X2000 on the West Coast
Line have stirred great interest. It has been shown that high speed trains can run with a
speed that is higher than the Rayleigh wave and shear wave velocity of the ground
adjacent to the rail way embankment. Very strong ground shakings is then generated in
the ground. The speed of the train is also close to the so-called critical speed, which
occurs because of the interaction of the embankment and the soil in which it is founded.
At the critical speed the displacement and accordingly the velocity and acceleration of
the embankment will be large. Perhaps the movement may be as large as to threaten the
stability of the embankment. Swedish Rail Administration has spent large resources on a
project named High Speed Lines on Soft Ground, which was reported in 1999.
Several organisations in Sweden and Norway participated in the project. Investigations
were performed south of Gothenburg in a soil consisting of soft clay and gyttja. The
conclusions of the project were that the stability of the embankment was not in jeopardy
but that the embankment had to be stabilised. The stabilisation was later performed and
the movements of the embankment became only 10 % of their value before the
stabilisation. Increasing the speed of trains will cause these problems on more sections
than there is today.
The environmental problems with ordinary passenger and freight trains are probably
more important than those of high speed trains. However this leads to the consequence
that higher frequencies of the shakings have to been taken into account than normally is
done in geotechnology as a human being is sensitive for vibrations at frequencies up to
80 Hz. Normally only frequencies up to 20 Hz are studied in geotechnology.

Chain of influence
Many ground shaking problems comprise a chain of influence i e a source emits energy
into a medium which transmits the energy to an object, receiver, which is excited. For
geotechnical problems it is customary to regard the train, rails, pads, sleepers and the
embankment as the source. The medium consists of the soil in which the embankment is
founded and further out the soil that is normally layered and may consist of different
geological materials. The object is often a building or a collection of buildings with
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 10

inventories. It may also be constructions, belonging to the railway as the electricity poles
etc.
It is important to recognise that the interfaces between the source/medium and the
medium/object will create interaction between the source/medium and medium/object,
which in turn give rise to mechanical phenomena. The critical speed mentioned above is
such a phenomenon of the interaction between the source and the medium. The
following is a summary of the links in the chain of influence. Keywords given in italics
in parenthesis are used as reference in the tables below.

Source
Forces from the train wheels acting on the rail are the ultimate sources of ground
shakings in the vicinity of the railway line. The movements and the internal forces of a
train set give rise to these forces together with the forces generated by the interaction
between the train and the sleeper/embankment system. Important entities deciding the
properties of the emitted waves are the masses of the locomotive and the cars and their
relative distance (axle loads), the springs between wheel (wheel springs) and cars
together with the speed of the train (train speed). The velocity of the train may vary
(accelerated train motion). There are observations that suggest that a train braking emits
strong ground motion.
There are several different mechanisms contributing to the emission of waves into a
railway line surroundings. The static load of the train is transmitted through the axle
loads to the rail/sleeper/embankment system and out to the surroundings. There will be
a depression, settlement, moving with the train. A passenger moving with the train will
see the depression not changing with time. The shape of the depression changes with the
speed of the train and can reach several tens of meters in the surrounding (dynamic
depression). The depression deepens and becomes broader with increasing train speed.
As the train speed approaches the Rayleigh wave velocity the depression might be deep
and wide. Above the Rayleigh wave velocity the dynamic depression will contain at
least one shock front.
The rail contains inhomogeneities of two different kinds; in stiffness and in geometry.
These create forces of reaction in the embankment and create waves in the surrounding.
The waves are observed both by a passenger moving with the train and an observer on
the ground. Geometrical inhomogeneities are foremost irregularities of the rail. The
irregularities have very different scale of lengths (wavelength), varying from mm to
kms. When a train passes such irregularities time varying forces appear with very
different time scales, frequencies (irregularities).
The passage of the train through curves will create a vibration source with a strong
horizontal component together with a vertical component. This is kind of an accelerated
movement, which was mentioned above.
Another inhomogeneity in stiffness and geometry is switches. The passage of a train
over it will force it as a stationary source for mechanical waves (switch passage).
Inhomogeneities in stiffness appear chiefly due to the sleepers. Even if the rails were
completely smooth a wheel would create time varying forces since the rails are
supported only over a part of its length. The other part is not supported. During the
passage of one wheel a sleeper will transmit a time varying force in the shape of a pulse
into the embankment (sleeper pulse). When several axles pass one sleeper the pulses
will repeat each other with a time distance of Twi = bi/V (bi is the distance between two
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 11

consecutive wheels and V is the speed of the train). The frequency spectrum of all the
pulses is called the load spectrum, (load spectrum).
As the train passes over the sleepers it will excite the embankment with a periodic force
following the train. The period is a/V (a is the sleeper distance and V the speed of the
train). Its inverse will give rise to the sleeper passing frequency fs = V/a (sleeper
passing frequency).
When the train is moving the cars and the engine will move individually back and forth
and from one side to another creating forces of reaction which are emitted to the
embankment and out in the environment (train vibration).
The embankment consists of two parts the upper part and the lower part. Both usually
contain ballast material. The behaviour of the ballast to dynamic loads is not very well
known compared to ordinary geo materials. Some research has been performed and is
reported in literature. The strains are expected to be high during a train passage. The
material will then deform in a non-linear elasto-plastic way and the internal damping
will be high (ballast material).
The profile of an embankment has the same dimensions as the wave lengths of the
emitted waves and will probably therefore affect the waves by filtering out some
frequencies and amplifying others. The size of an embankment changes often as a train
is moving on it. A train running with 180 km/h will in only 5 seconds pass a distance of
250 m. In that distance the height may change appreciably (embankment changes). A
special kind of embankment change is when the train passes the end of a bridge from the
bridge structure into the soil (bridge foundation).
It may be expected that a running train emits waves differently in different directions
(direction effects) because some of the lengths of the emitted waves are of the same
order as the length of the train or shorter.

Interaction between source and surrounding soil

The flexible embankment and the surrounding soil interact dynamically. If the
surrounding medium is changed the emitted waves would also change. And the
disturbances in the environment would differ in character. It should be possible to talk
about Interaction of Source-Soil (ISS), cf. Soil-Structure Interaction (SSI) in
earthquake engineering.
An obvious example of the interaction process is the phenomenon of critical speed. A
train moving with a slowly increasing speed will cause the rail and the embankment to
deform under itself. The displacements will gradually increase until the train moves
with the critical speed. If the speed of the train is still increased the displacements will
decrease so at very high speeds the displacements will be zero! The displacement at the
critical speed can be appreciable. The process is similar to the resonance phenomenon.
However the displacements do not appear because of an exciting frequency but of an
exciting speed. The formula for the critical speed contains entities both from the
embankment and the surrounding soil. For very soft soils in western Sweden and the
embankments used the critical speed is around 235 km/h. (critical speed).
Close to the embankment the soil will be highly strained. It will then deform in a non-
linear fashion, which will affect the movement of the embankment and the character of
emitted waves. Soil material softens with strain. The internal damping increases with
strain. The softening and the dissipation is more pronounced in friction material (sand,
silt) than in cohesive material (clays). (non-linearity in stiffness and damping).
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 12

It is also possible that the interaction between the embankment and the soil leads to
instability of the train motion. The motions of the embankment will then forever
increase beyond limits (instability).
Even the interface properties will in reality change with the length of the embankment
as was noticed above.

Surrounding soil
Propagation of mechanical waves depends on several properties of the soil material i.e.
stiffness, specific impedance, internal damping, densities, propagation velocities and
their variation inside the material. (material properties, inhomogeneities). It is expected
that the non-linear properties of the material properties only affect the soil in the close
vicinity of the embankment. Further out, where the amplitudes are small enough, the
soil will behave linearly. However the material will be inhomogeneous as it may consist
of a dry crust at the surface, clay material below it and further down a sandy, silty soil
material. There might be in a clay deposit embedded sandy silt lenses. Also in the
horizontal direction there will be changes of the material as the depths to the different
layers may change as well the depth to solid rock. Even when there is a deep deposit of
soft clay the clay will change its properties with depth because the properties are
dependent of the overlying stress.
Changing properties with depth cause the waves to show dispersive behaviour i.e. the
velocities of propagation of the different waves will change with frequency or
wavelength (dispersive effects). A short pulse close to the source will be elongated
during its propagation through the soil material. Connected to dispersion is the
appearance of resonance frequencies of a soil layer. A layered soil has several resonance
frequencies, which might play a role during a passage of a train over a layered soil.
(profile resonances)
Usually the waves are attenuated with distance from the source because of geometrical
spreading and internal damping. The waves have different characters depending if they
are close to the source (near field, i.e. distances equal or less than the extension of the
source) or if they are far away from the source (far field). A freight train may be several
hundred meters long while a commuter train 30-40 meters long. It is often easier to
analyse waves in the far field than those in the near field. (attenuation). The dispersion
effect will also affect the attenuation.
Connected to attenuation is the effect of spreading when a wave encounters an obstacle
in the soil. The spreading depends of the frequencies or lengths of the waves compared
to the dimensions of the obstacle, (obstacle spreading).
There is also the phenomenon of focusing of waves, which may be accomplished in
mainly two ways. First the rock surface below a soil material may be slightly concave
and act as a mirror to down going waves. The rays of the waves will be reflected by the
mirror and focused to points close to the surface; just as in optics. The other way is that
the variation of the soil layers, even if they are completely horizontal cause the rays to
refract (bend) so they will meet in a spot close to the surface of the soil. This is similar
to how light rays are bent in an optic fibre. (focusing)
Topography of an area affects the strength of ground shaking. It might amplify, at top of
hills, or reduce, at bottom of depressions, the motions compared to level ground. The
motions of an edge of a river are expected to be amplified, (topography).
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 13

A special problem for the Nordic countries is the frozen ground in winter. (frozen
ground)

Interaction between Soil and Object

An object, building or another kind of structure, interacts with the surrounding soil. It is
well known that the foundation of an object does not move with same displacements as
the surrounding soil, (differential motion). In contrast to the source soil interaction
where the source is flexible the object usually encountered in train traffic problems is
much more rigid. The foundation itself can, if rigid body motion is assumed, move in
six different modes (three translations and three rotations) and will show one resonance
frequency and a substantial damping caused by the radiation of waves from the
foundation for each mode of vibration. (foundation resonance, radiation damping).
These effects are manifestations of the interaction between the soil and the object. The
problem can be appreciated as a spreading problem. (object wave spreading).
Foundations can be of different types. It may be a simple plate resting close to the soil
surface, a basement in one or several floors or a plate supported by piles of different
configurations etc. The problem with interaction between waves and structures, soil
structure interaction (SSI), has been and is studied thoroughly in earthquake
engineering.

Object
An object is excited by waves arriving from different directions as the source is moving
on the embankment. The rays, which will arrive at a given time, have been emitted from
the train at different times (it is similar to the sky where we spot the stars and galaxies at
positions they had a time when the light rays were emitted; today they have other
positions).
The object imagined mounted to a completely rigid foundation will have several
resonance frequencies. The rigid mounting removes the influence of the foundation. The
interaction between the foundation and the rest of the object will change the resonance
frequencies and their internal damping. (object resonance, object damping). The object
damping is usually much less than the foundation radiation damping. A consequence of
existing resonance frequencies is that the object will filter the frequency contents of the
incoming waves. Some frequencies may easily excite the object but others not.
The study of the dynamical behaviour of structures is well developed by an academic
subject of its own; structural dynamics.

Inventories
The chain of influence concludes with the inventories of the object. In this context
human beings may be included in the inventories. Other inventories may include
sensitive equipment in hospitals and industries particularly electronic industries and
electronic devices belonging to the operation of the railway line.
As this part discusses the geotechnical problems in connection with train traffic induced
ground vibrations we leave the chain of influence here.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 14

Summary of technical items discussed in the preceding sections

Below follows tables 2 - 6 with the technical items, which were discussed in the
preceding sections. F stands for facts that can relatively easy be obtained from different
sources. D stands for development work, i.e. the theories are known but they have not so
far been applied to train traffic induced ground vibrations. After the letter D the area of
known theories is mentioned. R stands for research is needed, i.e. basic knowledge is
missing both on the theoretical and the applied level. W stands for weight, which means
non-linear behaviour of the material is important. Non-linear behaviour of soil materials
is in principle known but the consequences for train traffic induced ground vibrations
are not known. For ballast even the non-linear materials properties should be better
known. S stands for speed, which means that the consequences of different speeds are
not well known.

Table 2 Railway vibration sources.

Item Fact Develop Research Weight Speed

Axle loads F
Wheel springs F R W
Train speed F
Rail irregularities F
Sleeper frequency F
Load spectrum F
Accelerated train motion R
Dynamic depression R W S
Switch passage R W S
Sleeper inhomogeneity pulse R W S
Train vibration D
Ballast material R W
Embankment changes R
Bridge foundation R
Direction effects R

Table 3 Interaction between source and surrounding soil.

Item Fact Develop Research Weight Speed

Critical speed R W S
Non-linear stiffness R W
Non-linear damping R W
Instability R W S
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 15

Table 4 Wave propagation.

Item Fact Develop Research Weight Speed

Material properties, D
inhomogeneities
Dispersive effects D
Profile resonances D
Attenuation D
Spreading from obstacles D
Focussing D
Topography R
Frozen ground R

Table 5 Interaction between soil and object.

Item Fact Develop Research Weight Speed

Differential motion R
Foundation resonance D
Radiation damping D
Object wave spreading D

Table 6 Object.

Item Fact Develop Research Weight Speed

Object resonance, damping D
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 16

Conclusions
Tables 7, 8 and 9 summarize the needed research and development task in 1st, 2nd and
3rd priority.

Table 7 1st priority research tasks on railway vibration.

Task Develop Research Weight Speed Area

Static depression R W S Source
Switch passage R W S Source
Sleeper inhomogeneity pulse R W S Source
Ballast material R W Source
Critical speeed R W S Source-soil
interaction
Non-linear stiffness R W Source-soil
interaction
Non-linear damping R W Source-soil
interaction
Instability R W S Source-soil
interaction

Table 8 2nd priority research tasks on railway vibration.

Task Develop Research Weight Speed Area

Accelerated train motion R Source
Embankment changes R Source
Bridge foundation R Source
Direction effects R Source
Topography R Wave
propagation
Frozen ground R Wave
propagation
Differential motion R Soil-object
interaction
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 17

Table 9 3rd priority research tasks on railway vibration.

Task Develop Research Weight Speed Area

Train vibration D Source
Material properties, D Wave
inhomogeneities propagation
Dispersive effects D Wave
propagation
Profile resonance D Source-soil
interaction
Attenuation D Wave
propagation
Obstacle spreading D Wave
propagation
Focussing D Wave
propagation
Foundation resonance D Soil-object
interaction
Radiation damping D Source-soil
interaction
Object wave spreading D Wave
propagation
Object resonance, damping D Soil-object
interaction

8.4 Goods vibrations Goods comfort

Clearly, the first priority for the customer is to have the goods transported to its
destination without delay, without damages and to a reasonable price. This part deals
with goods comfort, or the condition of the goods, during transportation. A competitive
railway goods transportation system must be able to guarantee a transport that does not
damage the goods. A high goods comfort must be offered.
There are many examples on goods being sensitive to environmental factors. Food and
groceries for instance are sensitive to climate factors like temperature. Some types of
goods, for example precision instruments, are sensitive to shock and vibration. For this
reason a competitive transportation system must be able to offer a diversity of
alternatives satisfying the customer requirements. Experience shows that shock and
vibration is the single most important cause of goods damage. Therefore focus is put on
shock and vibration related damages.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 18

8.4.1 Economic impact of damaged goods

The economic value of goods damaged during transportation is large. Based on data
from insurance companies over the period 1986 1996 it is estimated that Swedish
industry lost 1000 2000 MSEK each year in direct costs (overhead and goodwill not
included) due to goods damaged during transport, [18]. The true value is even higher
since only part of the goods damages are reported to the insurance companies. Also the
above value only includes the damages covered by the insurances.
An interesting fact is that most investigators consider a large part of the transport
damages to be avoidable. In Sweden 70 75 % of the damages are possible to prevent
with fairly simple measures. The obvious conclusion is that large savings can be made
by modifying the transportation system to reduce the number of goods damages.
Therefore an important task is to investigate the causes for goods damages and find
methods to avoid them.

8.4.2 Goods damage mechanisms

A number of vibration related damage mechanisms leading to certain types of damages
have been identified [19].
Immediate damage caused by exceeded maximum stress or maximum displacement
leading to failure. A typical scenario is a package dropped to the ground during loading,
leading to a shock when the package is retarded against the ground. If the retardation is
sufficiently large the inertia forces may lead to goods damage due to exceeded
maximum stresses. Another example is jerks caused by improper handling during
switching or during running by insufficiently tied coach couplings.
Accumulated damage caused by repeated, cyclic, stresses leading to wear or material
fatigue. Typically these cyclic vibrations are generated in the vehicle power train.
Unbalance vibrations in the running gear is one typical example. In addition to material
fatigue cyclic stresses may lead to loose parts for instance screws. Hence this type of
accumulated damage often precedes immediate damages leading to failure. In
combination with improper loading the vibrations may also lead to worn surfaces on the
goods when the goods rub against other structures, see below.
Shaving and rubbing caused by relative motion, or sliding, between the carrier and the
goods or between parts of the goods. The goods may then be damaged by the contact
forces, i e friction, in the contact surface between the goods and the carrier. During
railway transportation this mechanism is usually caused by the shocks sometimes
experienced during switching or during running with loose couples. Also note that if the
sliding goods motion comes to a sudden end the consequence may be an immediate
damage.
It is often noticed that sliding cargo is a frequent cause of damages. When the carrier
experiences a horizontal shock the goods will, if the inertia forces are large enough,
slide relative to the carrier. The sliding may directly damage the goods (shaving and
rubbing) or indirectly if the goods abruptly run into an obstacle (immediate damage).
Vibrations do, due to its oscillatory character, not directly set the cargo into sliding
motion. Indirectly, however, vertical vibrations are known to reduce the effective
friction force between the carrier and the cargo. The situation is particularly bad when
the goods perform resonant vibrations. The risk for sliding cargos is reduced by using
high friction contact surfaces, avoiding excitation of resonant cargo vibrations at for
instance the sleeper passing frequency and by tying the goods to the carrier floor.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 19

8.4.3 Goods sensitivity to shock and vibration

One important part in understanding goods damages is knowledge on acceptable shock
and vibration levels. There are several attempts to classify goods with respect to its
shock and vibration sensitivity. In table 10 one such shock sensitivity classification,
obtained from [19], is shown. The values given in table 10 tries to classify the ability of
the goods to resist damage due to shock.

Table 10 Classification of goods ability to resist shock [19].

Acceleration [g] Description Example

0 - 20 Extremely sensitive Precision instruments with mechanical suspension
20 - 40 Very sensitive Instruments and electronic equipment in stiff frames,
needle-suspended instruments, navigation equipment,
Cathode ray tubes, light bulbs.
40 - 60 Sensitive Electro-mechanical equipment, cashier machines,
cooling equipment fridges, relays.
60 - 85 Moderately Radio and TV, optical equipment, electronic machines
sensitive and measurement instruments, domestic appliances.
85 - 110 Relatively Glass, porcelain, accumulators, heat exchangers
insensitive
110 - 200 Insensitive Machines, motors, transformers, bottles

8.4.4 Goods securing guidelines

Guidelines for securing goods in different transportation modes also provide valuable
information. Using the guidelines the transport operators can secure the goods to ensure
safety conditions sufficient to prevent damages to the goods, persons and the vehicle at
non-exceptional events. Table 11 is a short summary of the dimensioning accelerations
that is used for some transportation modes.

Table 11 Typical dimensioning maximum accelerations for securing cargo. Accelerations

obtained during handling and exceptional events such as accidents are not
considered. Data are taken from [20].

Transport mode Org Horiz acc [g] Vert acc [g] Comments
Road TSV 1 / 0,5 / 0,5 1 Horizontal: Forward/Backward
Railway - vagnlast SJ 4 / 4 / 0,5 1 Horiz: Forward/Backward/Lateral
Railway - combi SJ 1 / 1 / 0,5 1 Horiz: Forward/Backward/Lateral
Sea (North Atlantic) IMO 0,4 / 0,4 / 0,8 1 Horiz: Forward/Backward/Lateral

It is noticeable that the railway guidelines (together with sea) are the most restrictive of
the four compared transportation modes. This is said to be a disadvantage for the
railway transportation system since the cost for securing the goods is increased. Another
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 20

disadvantage is that the difference in rules reduces the flexibility of intermodal (eg road
rail road) transports.

8.4.5 Shock and vibration measured during

transportation
In order to reduce the number of goods damages knowledge on the shock and vibration
exposure during the different transport phases is necessary. The following paragraphs
provide some information, collected in literature, on shock and vibration exposure in
various transport situations.

Shock and vibration exposure during railway transportation

The values presented in table 10 should be compared with values measured during
transportation. During railway transportation the acceleration peak value rarely exceeds
4g (1g = 9,81 m/s2). In single events like switching substantially higher values, say 10g
20g, can be obtained [19]. According to table 10 this indicates that if single events
with very high accelerations can be avoided only the extremely sensitive goods is liable
to suffer immediate damage due to shock exposure.
The large acceleration values are reached at particular events like,
- switching, where the carriers are allowed to run into each other.
- insufficiently tied couplings causing strong longitudinal jerks.
- wheel flanges impacting on the rails during for instance bogie hunting.
- passing poor track sections etc.
Some of these events should be considered as handling related events that can be
influenced by modifying the handling routines.

Shock and vibration exposure during air and road transportation

The shock and vibration exposure to goods transported by road is comparable to that by
rail, [19]. The lowest exposure is found in aircraft. The peak acceleration during violent
manouevers is at most 0,6g, [19]. At very careless landings the peak acceleration can
reach 5g, [19].

Shock and vibration exposure during handling

Handling usually causes the highest shock and vibration exposure. Loading and
unloading the goods are critical operations. Loading and unloading containers with
trucks are known to be able to produce peak acceleration values as high as up to 35g
40g, [19]. Hence, reducing the acceleration exposure during handling will drastically
reduce the goods shock and vibration exposure and is therefore an important task.

Shock and vibration measurement and evaluation

It is a difficult task to measure and evaluate goods exposure to shock and vibration. The
problem is that the acceleration measured by an accelerometer mounted on the carrier is
a local value that may not be representative for the acceleration of the goods. It has been
shown that, due to resonances and strong local vibration fields, the locally measured
acceleration values vary a lot with location. For that reason it is an important to find
methods to measure and evaluate representative goods accelerations. There are a
number of issues the research should focus on.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 21

- How should the measurement positions be selected?

- How should the measured data be processed to obtain a representative acceleration
value?
- Is it possible to estimate the shock and vibration exposure to goods inside packaging
from accelerations measured on the carrier?
- How can the measured value be used as a measure of the probability for goods
damages?
The investigation reported in [20] put some focus on goods sliding on the carrier surface
and gives some valuable conclusions on how representative measurements can be
achieved. It is, for instance, suggested to low-pass filter the accelerations using a filter
with 8 Hz limit frequency. The filter is claimed to remove the effects of local vibrations
and resonances and provides an acceleration representative for the whole carrier. On the
other hand shock and vibration measured on part of the carrier is for sure important for
the comfort of goods located on this part. In this situation the problem is to evaluate the
effects on the goods.

8.4.6 Influence of shock and vibration on goods

Vibration testing means that the effects of shock and vibration on a product are tested.
In the test the product is exposed to a predefined, sometimes standardised, schedule of
shock and vibrations. Typically the schedule is designed using information on the shock
and vibration environment for the product during transportation and operation. After the
test the product is checked with respect to its function and possible damages caused by
the test. Usually the test results are used for improving the product design so that it can
resist its typical shock and vibration exposure. The results are also valuable for
providing information on how and at what shock and vibration exposure the product is
damaged.

8.4.7 Reducing the effects from shock and vibration

exposure on goods
In principle there are a number of possibilities to reduce the shock and vibration related
goods damages.
- The goods shock and vibration exposure can be reduced by a modified carrier design.
- The sensitivity of a product to shock and vibration can be reduced by a modified
product design.
- The effects of shock and vibration can be reduced by a suitable packaging design for
the goods.
- The effects of shock and vibration can be reduced with proper goods securing routines.
- The goods shock and vibration exposure can be reduced by modified handling
routines.

Reduction of the shock and vibration exposure by modifying the

carrier design
Shock and vibration on a railway goods carrier is caused by wheel-rail interaction,
wagon-wagon interaction or the powertrain. In principle there are two possibilities to
reduce the goods shock and vibration exposure by modified carrier design.
One possibility is to isolate the goods carrier from the generating regions. The
transmission paths can be eliminated by for instance introducing or improving the
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 22

existing vibration isolation in the bogie. Another possibility is to use floating floor
constructions for supporting the goods. Both these alternatives exist and are possible to
introduce. It is important though that cheap solutions are developed in order to bring
down the costs and make it possible to equip a substantial part of the carriers with these
solutions.
Another alternative is to reduce the generation of shock and vibration. Tayloring the
primary bogie suspension is one way of reducing the goods vibration due to wheel-rail
interaction. Introducing automatic couplings may eliminate the longitudinal jerks caused
by inadequately coupled wagons. These solutions also exist commercially but have to be
made cheaper in order to become a realistic alternative on a substantial part of the
carrier stock.

Modify product design

Products that are often damaged during transportation may be redesigned to improve the
ability to resist shock and vibration. Vibration testing is a valuable tool for this purpose.

Packaging design
Many products are transported in packages that may be designed to protect the products
from unwanted environmental factors such as moist or shock and vibration. Lots of
goods damages can be avoided by proper packaging designs. A well designed package
isolates the product from shock and vibration. A poorly designed packaging may cause
goods damages. Consider for instance packages placed on top of each other. Each
package must then be able to carry he weight of all packages above. If not, the whole
pile of packages might collapse and drop to the carrier floor. Another well known
example is that the risk for damages decrease with the degree of filling the package.
Vibration testing is a valuable tool in packaging design.

Load securing routines

As explained above many goods damages are consequences of sliding cargo. Load
securing routines aim to prevent cargo from sliding or moving relative to the carrier. For
each transportation mode the load must be secured to resist certain dimensioning
accelerations, see table 11. In physical terms the risk of sliding cargo is reduced by an
increased friction force between the carrier and the cargo. This can be achieved for
instance by using a carrier surface with a high friction coefficient or by strapping the
cargo to the carrier. A more unusual solution is to insert obstacles on the carrier surface.

Handling routines
Improper handling causes the highest goods acceleration levels and is responsible for
the major part of the goods damages. It is therefore important to find modified methods
and routines that decrease the risk for goods damages.
It is for instance important to modify the switching routines so that wagons bumping
into each other is avoided.
Loading and unloading routines must be modified to reduce the risk for dropping goods.
Is it possible to replace truck handling with a more goods friendly handling system
without loosing flexibility?
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 23

Handling routines also includes goods responsibility issues. It is known that transport
chains where it is clearly defined who is responsible for the goods have lower goods
damage rates than other. This is an advantage for road transportation where the driver,
which is sometimes the owner of the truck, feels a greater responsibility than in a large
system like the railway transportation.

8.4.8 Goods monitoring

Goods monitoring refers to automatically and remotely surveying the goods condition.
The goods condition may include any measurable entity, such as temperature, humidity,
acceleration and position. Today it is becoming more and more common to provide the
transportation with some kind of goods monitoring.
Many road transports are equipped with various track and trace systems allowing the
transport to be tracked and traced by for instance its owner. There are also available on
the market various measurement units and data-loggers for recording signals from
sensors such as accelerometers, [21, 22]. SNAPSHOCK PLUS for example is a battery-
powered series of acceleration recorders that registers peak acceleration events and the
time of occurrance. Unfortunately there are still unsolved problems regarding the
measurement of shock and vibration exposure, see section 4.5.4 above. There are other
problems needing attention as well. For example, logistical and practical problems like
who is taking care of the measurement system during the transport and when the
destination is reached.
The possibility to monitor different aspects of the goods condition is not only a tool for
collecting valuable information most important it is a valuable instrument to recover and
strengthen the customer goodwill. Therefore no effort should be saved in the search for
reliable goods monitoring methods.

8.4.9 Summary and recommendations for further

research
The cost for goods damaged during transportation is for most companies unnecessary
high. For this reason a high goods comfort to a reasonable price is one important
component in a goods transportation system able to attract customers. Shock and
vibration is the single most important cause of damaged goods and must be considered
when goods comfort is discussed.
A comparison between railway, air and road transportation shows no drastic differences
in goods shock and vibration levels. Negative for railway goods transportation is,
however, the fact that the goods securing rules are more restrictive for railway
transportation than for the other transportation systems.
The most important causes of goods damage during railway transportation are improper
goods handling during loading, unloading and switching. Hence, it is an important task
for further studies to develop improved handling routines that prevent goods damages.
Monitoring the comfort of sensitive goods is a method that would increase the
competivity of the railway transportation system. A comfort monitoring system would
improve the quality image of the transportation system. It would provide valuable
knowledge on goods damage mechanisms and increase the possibilities to prevent
damages. It would make it possible to make decisions on damage responsibility issues.
Finally a comfort monitoring is likely to increase the comfort awareness in the whole
transportation system.
 8 Noise and vibration aspects on railway goods transportation 24

Monitoring climate factors such as temperature is straight-forward. Shock and vibration

monitoring require, however, a number of research tasks to be solved. The most
important and probably most difficult of these is to find practical methods to measure
accelerations representative for the goods shock and vibration exposure.
Another positive measure is to provide the customers with recommendations and advice
regarding goods packaging. This will further improve the quality image and the
customer confidence in the transportation system.

8.5 CONDITION MONITORING

Large sums are spent on maintaining the track and the running gear in a railway system.
The costs for service and maintenance can be significantly reduced if the condition of
sensitive parts in the system is regularly monitored. The idea is to detect a defect and
take maintenance measures before it has consequences for other parts in the system. A
wheel flat must, for instance, be detected and maintained before it has damaged the rail
surface. A cracked wheel must be detected and maintained before a failure with
potential derailment. A defective bearing must be detected and maintained before a
failure that may damage a larger part of the bogie. The list of examples can be
continued.
Techniques for condition monitoring of various kinds of elements exist but have to be
improved and adapted for the specific application. Decisive for a large-scale
implementation of these techniques in a railway system is of course the investment and
operation costs compared to the savings in maintenance costs.

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